


Outcast

by durid



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fantasy, Superpowers, basically this'll be a combination of the English show Misfits and the movie Chronicle, featuring one direction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-03
Updated: 2015-07-07
Packaged: 2018-03-28 21:29:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3870418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/durid/pseuds/durid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Basically they're all delinquents forced to do community service and they get superpowers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

"Listen up you pathetic bunch of slackers." The probation worker started. "I'm not here to be your friend, so don't expect any kind of sympathy from me, understood?" she asked, looking at each of them individually.

There were five boys standing in line. Harry was all the way on the left.

"Claire, I have a question!" The boy next to Harry raised his hand. Harry thought he'd heard the probation worker call him Louis earlier.

"What?" She sighed.

"Are you implying that there needs to be a specific bond between two people before one can have sympathetic feelings for the other? I mean not to be funny or anything, but if I saw an old lady fall down i'd feel bad for her, but I wouldn't be her friend in this hypothetical situation right?"

Harry had to hold back a chuckle, but the blond boy at the far right didn't have as much control. He burst out laughing, only stopping when Claire glared at him. She then focused back on the group as a whole, completely ignoring Louis.

"You're all here because you are quite literally a burden to society. So now's the chance to give back."

"What do you want us to do?" Harry asked.

Claire looked around the lot they were standing in, as if to see what they could do.

"Why don't you just pick up the litter around here, yeah? Litter pickers are in the storage room, I'll be in my office." She turned around and started walking to the community center before turning around, pointing a finger at them.

"Don't think about leaving, cause I'll be checking up on you." and with that she disappeared.

Louis blew out a low whistle.

"She's a right cunt isn't she."

Nobody reacted. The black haired boy next to the blond one pulled out a pack of cigarettes and lit one. "Where's the storage room?"

"I think I know." the blond one said in a thick Irish accent. He started walking and Harry instinctively followed.

"Holy shit this is gonna be a boring few weeks if we're all this quiet all the time!" Louis exclaimed. "Let's introduce ourselves!" He stepped in front of the group, blocking their paths and forcing them to stop.

"My name is Louis Tomlinson. I'm 23 years old and I'm from Doncaster." He grinned, looking at each of them expectantly. 

The black haired boy rolled his eyes and walked straight by Louis, hitting him with his shoulder.

"M'name's Niall Horan." The blond boy spoke. "I'm 21 and I'm from Mullingar in Ireland."

"Liam Payne." The boy with short brown hair spoke. "Wolverhampton." 

They all looked at Harry.

"Harry Styles." He said with an awkward wave he immediately regretted. "I'm from Holmes Chapel."

"Well Harry, Niall and Liam!" Louis spoke. "I have the feeling we're gonna be the best of friends!"

The black haired boy returned with a litter grabber.

"Oy!" Niall exclaimed. "Couldn't you have grabbed some for us?" 

"What's wrong with your hands?" The first words he had spoken so far.

"What a dick." Louis frowned.

 

-

 

"So like, next thing I know, her dad storms in. Turns out he's a cop! Throws me against the wall and all that shit. Now normally I would've found it kind of kinky but with the consequences right around the corner, I wasn't all too happy!"

Louis just finished what was apparently his life story. They'd been picking up litter for an hour now. The black haired boy with earbuds in, completely isolating himself from the rest.

"How'd you get stuck here?" Louis asked Niall, but he was interrupted by a bright flash that lit up the entire sky. They all looked up to see what it was, but it was gone already. 

"What the fuck was that." Niall muttered.

"No idea." Harry replied, still staring at the sky. When he looked down again he saw the black haired boy lying on the ground, hands under his head, apparently asleep. Harry walked over to him and squatted down.

"Not to be a dick, but I think Claire is gonna kill you when she sees you like this." Harry smiled.

"Like I'd care." He scoffed, but sat up nonetheless. 

"Anyway, you shouldn't sleep during community service."

"You're such a fucking pussy." the boy huffed. "How'd you even end up here."

"Sorry." Harry shrugged, but my story requires sympathy, and according to Claire, you need to be friends for that, and I don't even know your name. So no sad backstory for you."

"Don't talk like him." The boy groaned. "I was just starting to like you... It's Zayn by the way."

"What?"

"My name is Zayn." 

"No, why shouldn't I talk like him? I'm assuming you mean Louis."

"Cause he's fucking annoying that's why."

"Why do you-" another flash. This time even brighter if possible. As soon as the light died down, Harry looked up. He gasped when he saw a tiny orb of bright white light falling from the sky.

He faintly heard Niall shouting. "WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?! When it hit the ground and everything around him lit up.

Then the white light faded into a deep dark black.


	2. Chapter 2

"Unbelievable!"

Harry opened his eyes to a headache and a pissed off Claire. Completely disorientated he looked around. The others were on the ground as well, blinking against the harsh sunlight.

"Your first day and you're already sleeping on the job!" She literally kicked Liam's side to get him up. Harry stood up as well, not wanting Claire to kick him as well. Everybody quickly scrambled up.

"Didn't you see the-" Niall tried but Louis quickly elbowed him in his side, shutting him up. Claire looked on warily. 

"Didn't I see the what?" she narrowed her eyes.

"Nothing..." Niall mumbled.

"What he meant to say was.." Louis piped up. "Didn't you see the lovely weather. I suspect that the five of us, in a moment of utter weakness, laid down for just a few minutes of radiant bliss. We must've fallen asleep, but can you blame us?"

"Yes." Claire deadpanned. "Do this again and I swear to god, I'll file a report." She stomped away.

Louis snorted. 

"Yeah right. What's she gonna do? Put us in community service?" He looked around to see if anyone laughed, but Zayn rolled his eyes and Liam just continued picking litter. Not even Niall laughed.

Why aren't they talking about what happened? Don't they remember the orb of light rendering them unconscious? 

Apparently not. After three more hours of service, not on of them brought it up. Not even during lunch. But then, in the lockers when they were changing into their own clothes so they could go home, Harry spoke up.

"Are none of you wondering what that was?"

"What what was?" Niall asked, busy on his phone.

"That whole light thing!" Harry urged.

"Must be some stupid weather thing." Louis shrugged.

"You really believe that?" Zayn asked skeptically.

"No wait, I think he's right." Liam piped up. "I read somewhere that sometimes lightning comes in a sphere and just flies around or something. I think it's called. Ball Lightning."

"Original name." Louis laughed.

That actually made sense. At least, it was more than Harry could come up with.

"Whatever it was, it was pretty awesome." Niall smiled. "Now I'm off, planning to get piss fucking drunk." He jumped in his place excitedly then walked away. Harry following his example. Well, not the getting drunk part. The leaving part.

He heard Louis behind him telling Liam something about his experience in the boy scouts. Which he doubts Liam found interesting. He put his earbuds in and took the bus home.

Home. Which was a loft he squatted along with his sister due to lack of income. His sister Gemma wasn't in the country currently. She never seemed to be. She also never told him where she was going, or how long. So he was on his own now.

He'd been living here for over two years now and so far there hadn't been any problems with owner of the building, so he didn't really worry about that. He plopped down on the couch Gemma once found on the street, a piece of duct tape covering a rusty spring.

He didn't have a television so the couch was aimed at the windows which covered the entire front of the loft. There was a cup of tea on the crate which he used on the table. He picked it up and took a sip.

Fuck, how long had that been there. He spit it back in the cup and put it back on the crate, forgetting that he'd probably try again tomorrow. He put his phone on the armrest and just closed his eyes for a minute.

Suddenly he felt a wetness under his nose. He touched it to see what it was and he found blood on his hand. He jumped up, accidentally knocking his phone off the couch. In an act of desperation he reached for it, but he couldn't catch it in time.

What he didn't expect, was his phone to stop midair, a few inches above the ground. It just hovered. His eyes widened in amazement as he stared at the floating device. How the fuck was that possible?

He must've stood there standing for a few minutes but he really didn't care. Then he slowly moved closer, trying to grab it. But when he was almost close enough, the phone fell. 

He prayed that the screen wasn't cracked when he picked it up. Luckily it didn't. He quickly wiped his nose with his sleeve and laid the phone down on the crate. Staring at intense concentration he tried to do it again. To make it float. Except he didn't really know how he did it the first time.

He must've nearly shit himself from trying to push his phone before he finally gave up. Then he decided that maybe it was a heat of the moment kind of thing, so he wasn't really proud of what he did next. He threw his phone in the air, holding his hands out to try and catch it with his mind. 

The sound of his heart breaking resonated with the smack of his phone against the hardwood floor. He picked it up. He should've thought this through.

A few minutes (and a couple of strategically placed pillows) later he tried again. Then after what felt like hours, and probably a couple hundred times, it worked. Harry nearly jumped in ecstasy when he saw his phone levitating. He was imagining it being held by his own hands. Then he imagined those hands letting go and his phone fell to the ground.

The time he tried after that it didn't work again. Then he tried again and he managed to levitate it again. Then again. then again. Until every time he threw if phone, he managed to stop it midair. Then he put his phone on the crate again.

He imagined his hands picking up the phone. It slowly rose up. About two inches off the crate.

He tried again and this time it got a little higher. He tried again and again.

He managed to get it about three feet up. Before it fell down. Suddenly he felt exhausted. He fell down onto the couch. His vision getting blurry. He felt his nose pouring blood and then he closed his eyes in fatigue. Falling asleep instantly.


	3. Chapter 3

Harry woke up by the sun shining in his face. Fuck. Why didn't his alarm wake him? He grabbed his phone and found it was off. The battery was dead. The clock on the wall told him that community service started in twenty minutes. He quickly plugged his phone in the charger, grabbed some gum and ran out. He couldn't be late on his second day.

He didn't have time to wait for the bus so he ran the entire way to the community center. By the time he got there he was panting and drenched in sweat, but he thought he'd made it in time. He went to the locker room where he grabbed his overall. Liam was already there, dressed in his overall. Harry heard Louis coming down the hall.

"-so I swear to god i thought my nipple was about to fall off!"

This was followed by Niall's incredibly distinguishable laugh.

"What's up lads?" Louis asked, grinning cheerfully. "Ready for another day of work?"

Harry didn't react because he really didn't know how to react to Louis. He wasn't exactly sure whether he found him extremely funny, or just very obnoxious. But he guessed he still had some time to decide since they would be on community service together for a few weeks. Liam just grunted in response. 

Then Zayn came in, at the last minute, because not ten seconds later, Claire came to see them.

"Today I want you sweeping the floor of the cafeteria. Then when you're done, you're gonna be scraping off graffiti. Understood?"

Nobody reacted.

"Understood?" 

"Yes.." They all mumbled, then Claire left.

They grabbed some mops from the storage room and went to the cafeteria. They had to stack the tables and chairs at the side of the room. Harry kept sneaking suspicious glances at Liam because the boy was acting really weird. Like he was afraid to touch anything. Everything he did was really careful and controlled. Something was up.

Louis kept talking shit the entire time they were working, but Harry was only half listening, thinking of yesterday night and what he had done to his phone. It wasn't normal, that's for sure. But he wouldn't tell anyone about this. If people found out about it, maybe they'd take him in for experiments or crazy shit like that. No, this was a secret he might possibly even take to the grave.

"Anyone else got a superpower yesterday?" 

Apparently Louis wasn't thinking the same thing.

Liam's eyes widened, while Niall and Zayn just looked like he was crazy. Harry did his best to keep his face neutral but he wasn't so sure whether he'd succeeded in that. 

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Zayn frowned. 

"Since that weird ball lightning thing yesterday I've done some messed up shit." Louis spoke, grinning excitedly. 

"Like what?" Zayn eyed him skeptically.

"Like this!" Louis said and he started running. steadily he picked up his pace, until he was running faster than Harry thought he could run. Then he went even faster, running circles in the cafeteria, until all Harry could see was an orange blur moving past them. He was pretty sure his eyes were like saucers. Liam and Niall looked surprised as well, and even Zayn had raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Then Louis came to a stop. Panting and sweating.

"See...." He panted. "and not.... even... tired."

"Right." Harry nodded.

"So can you guys do shit too?" He asked.

"No.." Niall muttered, looking genuinely upset. "I don't have any powers."

"I'm strong." Liam spoke up.

"Well good for you man!" Louis smiled exaggeratedly, "But this is not about how much you can benchpress at the gym. This is about superhuman abilities."

"I know." Liam nodded. "I didn't mean it like that." He said, walking to one of the tables they already stacked against the walls. He grabbed one of the legs and easily lifted the whole table up with one arm.

"Okay." Louis nodded. "That's pretty strong but how about-"

Liam casually threw the table across the room and it hit the wall, shattering into hundreds of pieces of wood, clattering on the floor. That shut Louis up.

"Dude that was fucking brilliant!" Niall exclaimed, looking on the verge of properly clapping. "Legend!"

Harry was impressed as well, and also a bit terrified. Next to these two, his power of levitating a phone was like pissing on an inferno. 

"What the fuck was that noise?!" Claire came storming in, eyes immediately landing on the pile of wood on the floor. "Who the fuck did this?" She stared at the group. Zayn threw his hands in the air as if to say it wasn't him. Harry shrugged.

"I fell." Louis piped up. Eyes wide. "Liam and I were roughhousing and he pushed me into one of the tables by accident. Turns out he's a bit stronger than I've anticipated. Who know the Payne could beat me ay?"

Claire looked incredibly unimpressed.

"If that mess is still here when I get back, I'm adding a week to your service." She said and turned around. Her short blond hair whipping behind her.

"I think she likes me." Louis grinned. "Listen. I'm not cleaning that up. That's on you Liam."

Liam's shoulders sagged as he walked his way to the demolished table. While he was picking up the pieces Niall asked Harry.

"Do you have a power as well?"

Harry didn't know if he wanted to react to this. Should he still keep it a secret? When Liam and Louis already shared their powers. 

"Yeah, I do." He blurted out before he could regret it.

"Show us!" Niall said. A childlike twinkle of excitement in his eyes.

"Can you step back Liam?" Harry asked. If he could lift a phone, he could definitely lift a light piece of wood. Liam stepped back and Harry focused, lifting both his arms because for some reason, he felt like it would help. 

Then slowly and shakily, a piece of wood started to rise from the pile. Harry ignored the gasps and the muttering to keep his focus. The piece of wood was about the size of a drumstick.

"That's so cool!" Niall breathed.

"And another thing-" Claire walked in the room, causing Harry to jump and lose his focus. His arms shot back to his sides and the piece of wood was sent shooting through the air. Barely missing Harry's head and flying over him towards the door.

A sickening wet sound was heard and when Harry looked behind he saw Claire standing. The piece of wood was sticking out of her eyeball.

She fell down to the ground. From the back of her head there was a piece of wood sticking out. It had completely impaled her.

He felt bile rising in his throat and he had to stop himself from vomiting.

"Fuck!" Liam cursed.

"Holy shit!" 

"Harry..." Niall spoke.

"What...?" Harry spoke shakily.

"You killed our probation worker!"

 


	4. Chapter 4

"You killed our probation worker!"

"I didn't kill our probation worker!" Harry defended himself.

"Yes you did!" Louis screeched, his eyes so wide they were almost manic as he gestured to Claire's body on the floor. "She's lying right there! Don't you see the blood pouring out of her dead head?!"

Harry felt like he needed to throw up. Sweat forming on his forehead. 

"I'm gonna be sick!" Niall breathed as he ran to a corner to vomit.

"But she's moving!" Harry pointed out. Desperate to convince himself that he hadn't killed someone. 

"She's convulsing!" Zayn spoke, sounding incredibly angry. "She's as good as dead. You're such a bunch of fucking losers." He paced the room. "Not even halfway done with our second day, and you've killed the probation worker."

"I didn't kill her!"

"We're going to jail." Louis whined. "It's true what they say. Community service is a gateway to fullblown incarceration. My parents are gonna kill me."

"Wait what do you mean we?" Niall asked, wiping his mouth. "We didn't kill her, Harry did." He said, nodding to Harry before shrugging. "No offense."

"None taken." Harry mumbled, his vision going blurry as he watched the growing pool of scarlet form beneath Claire's head. 

"We're accomplices." Zayn growled. 

"We have to get rid of the evidence." Liam spoke up. "Bury the body, it's our only chance."

"You want to bury the body?" Zayn asked. "What if they catch us? What if they find the body in a couple of years."

"We don't have a choice!" Liam spoke. "If they find her here, we're going to jail. If they find her there we're going to jail. So we better just do it to buy ourselves some time."

"Time?" Louis asked. "Time for what?"

"I don't know." Liam admitted. "Just time."

"So where do we bury her?"

"In the river behind this building?"

"Don't be a dickhead Niall." Louis scoffed. "Why would we bury her so close to the scene of the crime.

"He's got a point though." Zayn said. "How are we gonna drag a dead body all the way across town?"

"Plus.." Liam added. "Nobody will search the ground beneath a river."

"I'm in." Harry nodded, still feeling nauseous.

"I'll get the shovels." Niall said before he ran away. Harry considered that it was probably because he just wanted to leave the room, but really, he couldn't blame him. 

Louis sprinted away to get cleaning products and towels, to clean up the blood.

Ten minutes later they were all standing next to the river, watching the water stream down and thinking of a way to stop it. Liam holding Claire's corpse as far away from him as possible in one hand, she was dangling like a rag doll. 

Harry looked around until he saw a giant thick tree, big enough to reach from one side of the river to the other.

"Liam, can you lift that?" He asked, nudging to Liam. Liam looked at the tree and tilted his head.

"I hope so." He shrugged. He then carefully put Claire on the ground and walked over to the log. He squatted and with what seemed like little effort, he grabbed the tree and ripped it out of the ground, taking it's roots with it. 

"Where do you want it?" He asked, his voice strained from using this much strength.

"In the river." Harry said. It will hopefully redirect the water for a while as we bury her."

Liam nodded and dragged the tree to the river where he unceremoniously threw it in. The water hit it and parted, twisting the river into to smaller rivers. Harry almost felt the need to make a Moses reference but decided right now wasn't the time.

"Quickly." Liam said.They all grabbed one of the shovels Niall was holding and started digging.

"What the fuck is that smell?" Zayn asked, scrunching up his nose in disgust. They'd been digging for a few minutes now.

Louis sniffed the air like a dog a few times. "I think she shit herself."

Niall gagged as a collective groan went around the group.

"Dig faster." Harry nodded and they all did.

When they figured the hole was dig enough they made Liam lift Claire again.

"Honestly why can't any of you guys do it?" He whined as he picked her lifeless body up.

"Because you have superhuman strength." Louis said.

"You're strong enough to lift a woman too!" Liam said.

"Listen, when we need to do something very fast, you can come to me, but this is your job." Louis spoke.

Liam groaned and threw Claire in the hole.

"Anybody want to say a few words?" He asked as they all stared down at their probation worker.

"She kinda had it coming?" Louis offered.

"What the fuck!" Zayn scolded.

"What? She was a bitch!" Louis defended himself.

"Doesn't mean she deserved to die you absolute dickhead."

"Whoa whoa whoa, I've been getting some real negative vibes from you mister tall dark and broody. Did I do something to annoy you or something?" 

"Let's just fill up the hole and leave." Zayn grunted as he threw the first pile of dirt in the hole.

Just then, the water that seeped around the tree started streaming towards the hole.

"Shit" Harry exclaimed, if we don't fill this up quick, the water will wash away the dirt."

They all started working faster, Louis actually so fast his arms became a blur which quickly filled the hole, but more and more water was coming. 

"Liam, do something!" Louis cried.

"What? I'm strong, do you want me to fucking punch the water?" Louis scoffed. They started arguing. Not noticing Niall who stood up calmly and slowly. He held out his hand and the water stopped moving. Like someone stopped time.

"Uh, guys?" Harry tried to get Liam and Louis' attention, not taking his eyes of Niall.

They ignored him.

"Guys?"

"What?" Zayn asked annoyed. Then he turned around. Now they were all staring at Niall amazed.

"Niall what the fuck." Louis said. "Why didn't you tell us you could do shit like this?"

"I didn't know." Niall beamed, a childlike enthusiasm taking over. "I just felt the need to do something to the water. I feel like i'm in avatar or some shit." He laughed. "This is awesome!" 

They all looked at Zayn then.

"What?" He frowned.

"This means you must have a power too." Harry said.

"Who cares." Zayn shrugged. "Not like I'm gonna use it or something."

"Are you insane?!" Louis said, but quickly shut up when Zayn hit him with a death glare. They all quickly filled the hole while Niall stood in his place keeping the water at bay. Beads of sweat started to form on his forehead.

"How much longer guys? This is getting heavy.." He spoke.

"We're done."

Niall lowered his arms and the water started flowing again, only there was so much water held back that it broke the tree in two, causing the entire river to come flowing into them. Everything disappeared in a whirlpool of fast moving water.

Harry was dragged down the stream and managed to get out after about thirty feet. He looked around and saw that he was the last one to make it out, all of the others already standing upstream. 

"Jesus Niall." Louis complained. "Couldn't you have waited a couple of seconds."

"You said you were done." Niall shrugged, shaking his wet hair like a dog.

They all made their way back to the community center talking about what they could possible do with their powers. Zayn didn't meddle. 

They entered the center while Louis was talking about how they needed codenames if they went on secret superhero missions, but they all stopped when they saw someone standing in the middle. She had short black hair, a leather jacket and she was wearing sunglasses inside.

"Who are you?" Louis asked, raising his chin. "Are you on community service?"

"There's been reports of a strange light phenomenon." she spoke calmly. "Have you noticed anything peculiar lately?"

They all looked at each other, as if to see what the others would think. Personally Harry thought this lady looked a little unfriendly and he'd rather not tell her anything.

"No." Liam spoke for them. "What should we have noticed."

"Pity." She spoke as she walked straight through them to the exit. Louis and Niall parted to make way for her.

"I'll be back." She spoke.

Then she left.

 

 

-

Since you all know how the One Direction members look, here's how the woman at the end looks, since she'll come back (It's Lupita Nyong'o )


	5. Chapter 5

"Who the fuck was that?" Niall asked, looking back after the mysterious woman.

"No idea.." Liam said.

"She was fit though." Louis nodded approvingly.

"You're disgusting." Zayn grunted.

"So, what do we do now? Continue with our community service?" Harry asked.

"Are you mad?" Louis laughed. "Our probation worker is dead, I reckon we've got the rest of the day off."

"I don't think that's how it works." Liam countered.

"Who the fuck cares how it works, long as I'm not working." Niall shrugged, then he walked over to the locker room.

"There'll be an investigation." Zayn spoke as they all followed Niall. "They'll want to know what happened, but they'll send a new probation worker to keep us occupied."

"We need an alibi." Liam piped up. "If we all have the same one, it'll be believable."

"Why would they suspect us?" Louis said. "What reason would we have to kill her."

"We literally already are criminals." Harry spoke. "Every single one of us."

"I prefer the term 'young offender'  to be honest." Niall spoke through the shirt he had halfway over his head.

"So what's our cover?" Zayn said.

"I nominate Liam Payne." Louis said, his head buried into his locker making his voice echo.

"For what?" Liam asked.

"Thinking of an alibi." 

"Why me?" 

"I don't know you look like the most believable, to be honest I don't even know why you're in here with the rest of us."

"I'll take that as a compliment." Liam muttered.

Louis then proceeded to tell them what would be the perfect cover story, but Harry stopped listening after Louis introduced a bengal tiger to the story. He did however, notice Louis sneaking a glance at him every now and then. Shrugging it off he grabbed his stuff and left, telling them all how he'll see them tomorrow.

On his way home he picked up a pebble he found on the ground. He placed it in his palm and carefully made it levitate with his mind. Making sure nobody around him saw it, he tried to move it a little. It floated to the right, then left. Then it floated up until it was nearly a foot above his hand. Then it descended slowly. Back onto his palm. He kept this going until he reached home. By the time he was climbing the stairs, it had turned surprisingly easy. He didn't even have to pay much attention to what he did, he just casually controlled the pebble. When he reached his door he put the pebble in his pocket.

He opened his door but before he could enter himself, a blur sped it's way past Harry into the loft. Confused for a bit, Harry was surprised when the blur stopped on the couch and revealed Louis lounging there, his feet resting on the crate in front of the couch. 

"This is certainly....  _urban_." He spoke, looking around amused.

"What are you doing here?" Harry frowned, slowly sliding the door closed.

"Well I tell you what I didn't do.. I didn't follow you halfway through the city to find out where you live." Louis spoke. "Oh wait, I did."

"That's pretty creepy." Harry laughed uncomfortably.

"When you say it out loud, yes it does." Louis nodded. Then, in a blur of movement, Louis was in front of Harry. Almost too close. "There's something about you, Harry." He said, his eyes searching Harry's face, as if he could find what made him interesting.

"Eh... sorry?"

"No, it's okay." Louis said, and he was at the other side of the loft again, looking around. "Nice place you got here."

"Thanks." Harry said, contemplating if he should offer him a drink.

"We're not so different, you and I" Louis spoke as he looked out the window.

"How's that?" Harry asked, a small smile on his face because Louis was treating this like a confrontation between a hero and a villain.

Then Louis was in Harry's face again.

"You're fit. I'm good looking as well." 

"We're proper twins." Harry nodded mockingly.

"Maybe we can set up an arrangement." Louis asked, taking a step back and eyeing Harry head to toe.

"What kind of arrangement?"

"A friends with benefits kind of deal." Louis spoke. 

"No." Harry said and he walked to the door to slide it open. "Anything else?"

"Why not?"

"Call me old fashioned, but I don't do casual sex." Harry said. "And I'm not in the right place for a relationship right now."

Louis sucked in a breath. "Bad break up?"

"Shut up."

"You call it old fashioned, I call it boring." Louis said, raising his chin. "At least consider it, we won't do any of the intense couple things. Think of that movie Friends With Benefits."

"They get together in the end, that's literally the worst example." Harry laughed.

"Fuck, I haven't seen it yet!" Louis complained. "Now I know the ending." 

"You're fucked up, Louis." Harry said. "Now could you please go? I'm very tired and I want to sleep."

Louis put his hands up in defeat and slowly walked to the door. When he reached it he looked at Harry once more.

"You intrigue me Harry Styles." He said, then he walked out. Harry closed the door and locked it.

He walked to the couch and fell down. He grabbed the cup of tea and took a sip before realizing his mistake and spitting it back into the cup. He lay down on the couch and pulled out his pebble, admiring it's shape. It was incredibly smooth for a random pebble he found on the street. It was almost perfectly oval. He threw it in the air and stopped it from falling an inch from his face. Then he propelled it into the air again and stopped it once again. He continued to do this until it grew boring. He put it in his pocket again and began reading a book he found under the couch, something about a black rose. 

He was interrupted when something caught his eye. He looked out the window and saw a bright white orb falling down from the sky. Just like the one that gave them their powers. But this time the orb landed a few miles away from Harry, in a flash of bright light. This could only mean one thing.

More people with powers were about to appear. 


	6. Chapter 6

The next day of community service was just like the previous one, except for the dead probation worker burying. They were all just fooling around with their powers a bit. Liam tried to lift as many things as possible. Louis ran laps around the room, trying to go faster every time.

"Look what I can do!" Niall had said with a droopy smile and bags under his eyes. He then grabbed a bottle of water and opened it. He let the water flow out and it gathered in an orb midair. Small waves covered the entire surface.

"That's awesome." Harry smiled, mostly entertained by Niall's giddiness. "But you look exhausted. You okay?"

"Yeah it's nothing!" Niall smiled. "Just been up all night practicing."

"Figures." Harry laughed.

"Honestly." Louis shouted from the other side of the room while sitting on a chair Liam was lifting. "When are you gonna get your power, Zayn?" 

"Why do you want me to have a power so badly." Zayn asked, leaning against the window where he was smoking.

"Because I'm a curious little boy and I think we should start a superhero group." Louis said as he jumped off the chair.

"I'm never gonna join your superhero group." Zayn frowned.

"Me neither." Liam shrugged.

"I'm not a big fan of the spandex suits..." Harry muttered.

"I would." Niall grinned. "I'd be the next Aquaman"

"Who's also literally the lamest superhero ever." Louis scoffed.

"Finally he says something sensible." Zayn practically whispered, bur Harry heard him nonetheless. 

"I'm gonna take a piss." Louis said and ran out of the room with suppressed. 

"Honestly, does he ever shut up?" Zayn asked.

"I think he's funny." Niall shrugged.

"He's trying to be." Liam laughed, making Zayn laugh too.

Then Louis came running back, a panicked look on his face.

"I think we need to go!" He said, scanning the room for a possible exit. 

"What?" Liam asked. "Why?"

"She's back!" Louis said. "And she brought friends."

As if on cue a loud bang sounded from somewhere in the building. Louis started running around the room, trying to climb through the open window when suddenly the window flew shut.

"What the fuck!" He cried. "Harry are you doing this cause you're not helping!" He whispered loudly.

"I'm not doing anything!" Harry said, and he threw up his arms to prove it.

"I knew it!" A voice sounded from the door. When Harry turned around he saw the woman from before, but this time she was accompanied by two other people. A boy who definitely wasn't unattractive, and a girl who'd probably stir the hearts of many.

"I knew you had powers!" The woman from before continued, a smug smirk on her face. "You're terrible liars, you know that?" She took off her sunglasses and looked at each person in the room.

"Who are you?" Liam asked.

"My name is Grace." She spoke. "And I'm here to retrieve you." 

"Run!" Niall shouted, and chaos ensued.

Niall shot all of his water in Grace's face, as if that little splash would hold her back. He then tried to run through her and her companions but the boy simply held out his arms and pushed Niall back. Liam hurled a chair at the three of them, but the nameless girl stopped it with a flick of her hand, making it hover midair before crashing to the ground. Louis  tried to use his superspeed to race his way through them but he was thrown back with another flick of her wrist and crashed into Harry who barely managed to stay standing.

"You're very rash aren't you." Grace spoke.

"It's actually pretty cute." The boy smiled. Something that looked strangely sympathetic considering the situation.

Then something happened that Harry had never seen coming. Zayn took a drag from his cigarette and blew. A giant cloud of thick black smoke mixed with small orange and red lights that looked like small embers rising from a campfire escaped his mouth and filled the room, blocking everyone's view.

"RUN!" He shouted and Harry did, not seeing where he went. He felt himself crash into two bodies but managed to squeeze through them. Then suddenly he was out of the cloud and into the hallway. He looked into the room but all he could see was the smoke. Then suddenly Zayn emerged, then Louis then Liam. Niall came out last. They all looked at each other and within seconds they were running again.

They ran across the main hall, but before they reached the entrance, the giant metal staircase started moving. It toppled over, and fell down with a skull shattering crash, barely missing them. Then it moved again. The metal bars moving across the floor like snakes hunting a prey. Harry tried to turn around, but before he made a step, the metal snake grabbed his ankle and pulled him down. 

His head hit the ground hard, a feeling of lightheadedness spreading through him. The metal snaked it's way up Harry's body, trapping him in a position in which he couldn't move. his hands tied behind his back and his feet stuck to the ground. He moved his head and he saw the others were also fighting their makeshift metal contraptions.

"If you'd only listen.." Harry's head shot up to see Grace and the two others had caught up. "You'd know who we are and what we want."

"You just told us." Niall said. "You're here to  _retrieve_ us."

"Which sounds an awful lot like kidnapping by the way." Louis piped up. 

"We're actually here to help you, dickheads." The girl spoke. Looking annoyed.

"What my sister means," Grace spoke. "Is that we can help each other."

"Wait, she's your sister?" Harry asked, confused.

"And he's my brother." Grace spoke, gesturing to the boy who did an awkward hand wave.

"Hate to break it to you, but I'm pretty sure one of you is adopted." Louis spoke. Harry groaned internally. Louis was hinting at the fact that Grace was black and her siblings weren't.

"They both are, actually." Grace spoke, looking right into Louis' eyes with an expression that was certainly less friendly than before.

"What do you mean, help each other?" Zayn asked. Which reminded Harry. What the fuck was that shit Zayn just pulled. how long had he known he had that power? As soon as they were out of their cages, Harry'd interrogate the shit out of him.

"We can help you develop your powers." Grace said.

"And in return?" Zayn asked.

"You help us save our kind."

"Our kind?" Harry asked.

"People with powers." The boy spoke. "I'm Tyler by the way!"

"There's more of us?" Harry asked, getting excited.

"Sweetie." Grace smiled.

"There are thousands."

 

 

 

 

 

 

-

 

Here are pictures of Grace's brother and sister!

 

 

   

 

They're Dylan O'Brien and Elizabeth Olsen!

                              


	7. Chapter 7

"There's thousands of us?" Harry asked excitedly. The idea of entire populations with powers thrilling him.

"And counting." Grace spoke. 

"You think you're the only ones hit by those weird light things?" Tyler spoke. "How do you think  _we_ got  _our_ powers?"

"Maybe you were born with it?" Liam suggested.

"Maybe it's Maybelline." Louis spoke.

Tyler rolled his eyes and clenched his fist, as if hearing a command, the metal trapping Louis contracted, nearly choking him.

"This isn't the time." He warned, before loosening his fist and the metal. Making Louis gasp.

"We'd all appreciate it if you stopped making jokes, this is a serious issue and we want you involved." Grace reprimanded them calmly, as if all of them had been messing around.

"No offense." Liam began. "but who is  _we_?"

"The three of us." Grace gestured to her siblings standing on each side of her. "Tyler, Sarah and myself. We've started a safe haven for people like us, people with... powers."

"Before you elaborate, can you please let us go?" Liam asked.

"Yes please!" Louis agreed. "I have sensitive bones."

"If you swear you won't run off." Grace raised her eyebrows. Harry nodded vigorously, the metal hurting him.

Grace nodded in Tyler's direction and he moved his hands as if he were pushing something aside. The metal that was coiled around them started to slither pack across the ground and into a shitty version of the staircase it had once been.

"Why do we need a safe haven?" Zayn asked.

Grace's face lost it's friendly demeanor, Tyler looked at the ground and Sarah honestly looked ready to punch something. Harry suddenly very much hoped that they weren't lying and the siblings were on their side.

"Not everyone is happy about us." Grace almost whispered. "People have the bad habit of being afraid of what they don't know. And nobody knows what's happening to people like us. Including people like us."

"We're being killed." Sarah spat.

"Not all of us." Grace corrected her. "Yet."

"Why?" Niall asked.

"Because they think we're freaks." Tyler smiled.

"It's not funny." Sarah scolded him. She then pulled out her phone and levitated it in her hand. Upon seeing the boys look at it, Grace explained.

"She's Telekinetic, just like Harry." 

A pang of disappointment shot through Harry, at not having a unique power, but it was immediately washed away when he realized she could help him. He suddenly remembered her stopping a chair coming at her with just a flick of her hand.

Sarah steered the phone towards the five boys and a video was playing. It was dark and there were two man in it. The quality was bad, as if it was filmed by a shaky phone.

It took a while for Harry to realize that one of the men was levitating, hovering a feet above the ground, the other was a policeman aiming his gun at him. They were both yelling but Harry could hardly make out what they were saying.

"Stop what you're doing!" The policeman seemed to shout.

"I'm trying!" The floating man shouted back. "Please help me! I don't know what's happening to me."

"Come down immediately!" The cop shouted back. "Or I will shoot."

"Please don't shoot me!" the other man cried as he seemed to float even higher now. "Please help me!" 

The sound of a gunshot was heard and the floating man tumbled to the ground in a lifeless pile. Then the video ended.

"This young man.." Grace said, her voice was tight now. "Was shot because he couldn't control his power, and others didn't understand him. We're here to save our kind."

"That's terrible." Harry whispered.

"There's more.." Tyler said, his smile now completely gone, a grim look on his face.

"We're being weaponized." Grace nodded. "Taken to labs, experimented on. Used as weapons.

Another video started playing. A rushed compilation of footage.

It was filmed from a flying helicopter, over a war zone. A boy who couldn't be older than 12 was cuffed and wearing a collar. Beams of fire were shooting out his eyes onto the battlefield. Then the footage of an interrogation chamber. A woman wearing the same collar was holding the head of someone who was tied to a chair. Two men in suits were asking him questions. When he didn't answer, a light on the collar flashed and the woman grimaced. Then sparks surrounded her hands and the man twitched in his chair.

Another war video. The camera was focused on a man standing in the middle of the crossfire. His collar blinked and he grimaced in pain, like the woman before had. Then he screamed. A high pitched noise cut through the air and suddenly the image went dark and the video was over.

"Disgusting." Niall scoffed.

"Why don't they just fight back?" Louis asked. "What's some guy in a suit gonna do about a woman who can shoot lightning out of her hands?"

"Have you seen the collars?" Zayn asked. "They're obviously some sort of torture device."

"Correct." Grace nodded. "They shock you if you're disobeying and they're filled with an explosive if you're  _really_ disobeying." She rubbed her neck as if she still remembered wearing one herself.

"But how can this be?" Niall asked. "We've barely had our powers for a week, how can they already have captured so many of us with the needed preparation?"

"You think there was only one incident?" Tyler laughed. "Fuck, you're so cute, thinking you're special." 

"The first recorded 'infection' as the military calls it, happened 7 years ago. In France. The next one was 2 years ago, in America. From then on, they came faster and more often. Now there's one Illumination almost every week."

"llumination?" Harry asked.

"It's what we call the moment people get their powers." Tyler explained. "It's basically just a weird ball of light experience, but Illumination sounds more serious and we need to be taken seriously." 

"What would you want us to do?" Zayn asked.

"We would like to expand our database." Grace smiled. "We have a file with all of the powers that we're aware of. We already have Telekinesis, we also have the super strength power, and the superspeed. We've seen recordings of the Aquakinesis you possess. She looked at Niall. "But we've never been able to study it up close. And yours.." she looked Zayn. "We've never seen or heard about your power whatsoever. You'll be a goldmine to our research facility. Who knows how much use we have for you."

"Wait!" Harry exclaimed. "Now you sound no better than the military. Research, having use for us. What makes you better than them?!" 

"We use our kind to save our kind. They use us to save theirs." Grace stated matter of factly.

"You have one week." Sarah spoke.

"For what?" Liam asked.

"To decide whether you join us or not." Tyler explained. "We leave this sunday."

"Think long and hard about this. Whatever you choose, it will change your life." Grace said before she turned around and walked away.

"How will we find you?" Niall asked."

"We'll find you." Tyler said, looking around the community center as if to emphasize it. "I don't think you'll be going anywhere."

"One more thing. Grace said, looking at all of them. "If you're not with us, you're against us. We can't afford liabilities." With that she walked off.

"What the fuck was that supposed to mean?" Louis exclaimed  gaping after the siblings.

"I think you know exactly what it meant." Liam spoke.

"They're not really giving us much of a choice are they?" Niall scoffed.

"Are we even sure they're the good guys?" Louis asked.

"Let's hope so." Harry sighed. 

 


	8. Chapter 8

Harry barely got any sleep that night. All of the new information swirling around in his mind, like a stormy sea, and he didn't know which direction to swim. He had practiced a little more with his power, now he was able to lift the entire crate in his loft, although it wasn't easy. It seemed like he grew stronger pretty fast and that excited him.

He was on his way to community service now. They had agreed to met up at Louis' place tonight to discuss what they were gonna do. He entered the community center and went to the locker room. He could hear the others talking from around the hall.

"I'm just saying, you've got a weird power." Louis laughed.

"Shut up.." Zayn sighed, Harry walked into the room. Liam was on his phone and he heard the sound of a shower running so he figured Niall might be showering.

"I mean, how are you gonna explain that?" Louis continued. "I'm super fast, Harry's basically a jedi, Liam is incredibly strong, Niall can control water and you can blow smoke? I'm not being funny but I think you've been screwed by whatever gave us our powers, man."

Zayn blew out a small cloud of thick black smoke which enveloped Louis' head entirely. Louis started coughing. Harry laughed as the older boy ran into the showers and let the water run over his face.

"Fuck that's nasty!" He cried.

"Guys look what I can do!" Niall ran out of the showers with an orb of water the size of fridge floating above his head. The orb moved in circles above his head, not a drop of water fell down.

"That's awesome!" Harry stared in awe. "How the fuck are you learning this so quick."

"I have no sense of responsibility." Niall smiled back and threw the water back into the showers just as Louis stepped out, completely soaking the boy.

"I'm starting to think you guys have it out for me."

"You'll have to be more careful using your powers if you don't want to get caught." A voice sounded from the entrance. Harry turned around to see Tyler standing there.

"What are you doing here?" Liam frowned, finally looking up from his phone.

"I'm your new probation worker." Tyler grinned.

"No fucking way." Niall gaped. "He's messing with us, right?"

"How did you manage that?"

"I've got connections." Tyler replied.

"This is actually amazing!" Louis beamed, twisting the water out of his hair. "This means we don't have to do any work, right? We can just have a laugh all day long."

"I'm actually here to make sure you don't run away before you've decided. As my sister says, we can't have liabilities. Although she is much more extreme than me. Think of me as the cool teacher."

"Great." Zayn sighed. "They've got Magneto here to babysit."

"I'm not Magneto." Tyler scoffed. "I'm like a chill magneto without the helmet. But yes, you will be working. So swipe the floors of the main hall. Now!" The smirk on his face showed how much he liked ordering people around.

Niall used his power to coat the floor in a layer of water and Louis used his speed to mop it. They were done within minutes.

"I suggest we don't use our powers for cleaning anymore." Louis spoke as they finished. "Or we'll be waiting the entire day until we get to leave and that will be boring."

"I see you're done here." Tyler nodded approvingly as he scanned the floor. Must be a record. Now go and ehm..." He looked around, probably to see if he could make up a chore or two. "Fuck it, go pick the litter or something, I don't really care, as long as you do something."

Niall led them outside while Louis grabbed the litter pickers. Not much happened while they were working. Liam kicked a can and it flew into the sky never to be seen again. Zayn occasionally blew a whip of smoke then twirled it around his fingers, as if the smoke moved on his command.  Harry caught Louis staring at him every now and then, and when Harry tried to blow him off by staring back, the older boy just smirked.

Harry was just about to ask Louis if he could stop, when Louis threw a can at his head. Harry raised his hand and the can stopped. Then it flew back and hit Louis in the face.

"Impressive."

He looked around. About thirty feet away from them, four people were watching them. One of them stepped forward. He looked like a normal boy, one you would pass on the street and think nothing of, but he spoke with an air of authority.

"You're a fast learner, you'll make a fine addition to our cause."

The glint in his eyes gave Harry a nasty feeling in his gut.

"Who are you?" Liam asked. He had dropped his litter picker and stepped behind Harry.

"We're-"

"Step away from them!" Tyler shouted from the community center entrance. He ran across the square and stepped in front of Harry. Glaring at the four mysterious people. 

"They're from the OWD. The Outcast Weaponization Department." Tyler spoke, not taking his eyes off them.

"What's that?" Niall asked.

"Outcasts is what the people without powers gave us. They're here to collect you to use you as weapons, like the video I showed you."

"But there's four of them and six of us, and we have powers." Louis frowned. "So we have the advantage here right?"

"No." Tyler said. "They have powers too, and each of them has more experience than all of you put together."

"Tyler!" The one who had spoken earlier exclaimed. "It's been a while."

"Always a pleasure, Dan." Tyler smiled a sarcastic smile. Then he turned to Harry and the others. "They're here to take you. Whatever you do, don't get near Dan. He's a teleporter and once he touches you, you're gone to wherever they want you to be.

"My reputation precedes me." Dan smiled.

Dan looked back at his companions. There were three other men and one woman. They never looked away from Harry or the others. Like predators stalking their prey. Their faces were blank.

Then, out of nowhere, Dan disappeared. As if he were sucked into a vacuum with amazing speed. Then he appeared again only a foot away from Harry. Out of reflex, Harry put his arm out and a kinetic forced pushed Dan backwards. He stumbled but remained in balance.

The woman stomped the ground and a big chunk of stone came floating out of it. She pushed forward with his hand and the stone shot at them. Liam jumped in front of them and punched the chunked. It shattered into a hundred pieces and fell down to the ground.

Tyler pulled three metal marbles out of his pocket and threw them in the air. They hovered above his head and he shot one of them forward. Like a bullet it shot through one of the men's head. The man landed on the ground where a pool of blood was forming around his head. 

Tyler shot another marble. But the remaining man jumped out of the way. then the nameless guy put his hands together and a giant pillar of fire erupted from his palms. It missed them only because Louis pushed everyone out of the way before the fire even reached them. He saved Harry last.

"You owe me." He smirked. Harry couldn't believe Louis had the audacity to flirt with him in the middle of a life threatening situation, but it did something to him. That is, until Dan appeared between them and grabbed Louis by the arm. As if they were sucked into a void they were gone. The last thing Harry saw, was Louis' smirk disappearing and a look of genuine fear taking it's place, making him look younger than Harry had ever seen him. 

Harry quickly ran around the building, to evade the bursts of fire sprouting from the guy's hands. The rest followed him, each of them fearing Dan would take them away like he had taken Louis. 

Suddenly the ground beneath them cracked. Then it felt like they were descending. The ground around them seemed to rise, but in reality they were standing on a sinking piece of land, trapping them in a sinkhole. 

Something cold spread across Harry's feet and when he looked down he saw water coming from the sand around him. They were close to the river. Then on the edge of the sinkhole, the man and woman appeared, smirking at their prey. Fire was already starting to form in the man's hands. Harry could do nothing as he saw an inferno heading for him. In the corner of his eye he could see Niall throw both his arms in the air and the coldness around harry's feet resided. 

The man's fire and Niall's water collided in an explosion of steam. 

Through the steam, the woman appeared. She had jumped down into the hole. She clenched a fist and the hole began to close around them. Harry tried to push her the way he had pushed Dan but it didn't work. He tried and tried again, until he felt blood seeping out of his nose. 

Tyler lay on the ground beside him, blood seeping out of his head. Apparently he landed on his head when they fell down. Zayn breathed heavily, looking at the walls of earth coming closer with fear in his eyes. 

Then Liam stepped forward and punched the woman in the face. A sickening crack sounded and blood sprayed all of them as the sheer superpower of Liam's fist crushed her skull. She fell to the ground. 

Harry scrambled to Tyler. He pulled him up by the collar and slapped him across the face.

"Wake up!" He shouted. "They're gonna kill us!"

Zayn blew a big cloud of smoke at the fire Outcast. He ignored it and he started a fire in his right palm, but as soon as the fire came in contact with the smoke, it ignited in a huge explosion, knocking everyone back. The air was pushed out of Harry's lungs as he was knocked to the wall. The fire Outcast fell down the sinkhole, at least what was left of him. The charred blackened remains.

"Your smoke is flammable." Liam nodded to Zayn, still dazed by the explosion. Good to know."

Zayn looked at his hands in disbelief.

Tyler had woken up because of the explosion and was now standing up, but before he could do anything, Dan appeared again. He grabbed Liam by the throat and within a second they were both gone. 

"Liam!" Zayn shouted. 

"Get behind me!" Tyler commanded. He grabbed a pipe sticking out from the ground and broke it. Harry ran to stand behind him. Niall and Zayn as well. There they stood, the four of them, waiting for Dan to appear again. 

Then he did.

It was over within seconds.

Dan appeared out of nowhere, standing in front of the four of them, but before either of them could move a muscle, Tyler's pipe shot from his hand as if shot by a cannon. It impaled Dan from his chin to the tip of his head, skewering him. 

Dan fell down in a lifeless lump. It was over.

Harry breathed heavily as he looked around. Three dead bodies with them in the sinkhole. 

"We're gonna have to move them." Tyler spoke. Though he was panting he sounded casual, as if talking about furniture. "Then we'll leave."

"But what about Louis?" Harry asked.

"And Liam." Niall added, looking at Harry. Harry felt ashamed for only thinking about Louis for some reason.

"They're gone." Tyler said. Then he grabbed the pipe and pulled it out of Dan's lifeless skull. He levitated the pipe and clung to it, lifting himself out of the sinkhole. Then he threw the pipe down and lifted the others one by one.

"We have to save them." Harry said.

"Yes we do." Tyler nodded.

"So what are we waiting for?" Niall asked impatiently.

"Are you mad?" Tyler raised his eyebrow. "You just got your asses handed to you and you're ready for the sequel? You'd all be dead if it weren't for me. We need to train first."

"When do we leave?" Zayn asked.

"You've decided then?" Tyler asked as they followed him to the center.

"I don't think we have much of a choice to be honest." Harry shrugged. 

"One more question." Zayn said. Tyler stopped and looked at him.

"What?"

"They were Outcasts working for the OWD.." Zayn began, Tyler nodded for him to go on. "But I didn't see their collars."

Tyler grimaced.

"That's because some of them volunteer."

"Why would anybody volunteer for them?" Harry frowned.

"To be part of a winning team." Tyler mumbled.

"So they are winning." Zayn asked.

"So far. Now follow me. We'll leave tonight."

"So soon?" Niall asked.

"Of course!" Tyler replied.

"There is much work to be done if you want to save your friends."


End file.
